International oil traders frustrating refineries in Africa – Dangote

Aliko Dangote, founder and president/chief executive of the Dangote Group, on Tuesday said international traders are deliberately frustrating the establishment of new refineries and the efficient operation of existing ones in Africa, to protect their own dubious interests.

Mr Dangote disclosed this while speaking at the West African refined fuel conference in Abuja on Tuesday, organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and S&P Global Commodity Insights.

“The problem is international traders are deliberately frustrating the establishment of new refineries and the efficient operation of existing ones in Africa, to protect their own dubious interests,” Mr Dangote said.

He explained that international traders maintain the offshore Lomé floating market, where over one million tonnes of petroleum products are stored in vessels offshore and sold to African countries at inflated prices.

“When you build a refinery and disrupt that system, you are not just innovating, you are threatening powerful interests that will seriously fight back,” Mr Dangote said, noting that “Without political support, I don’t think any new large refinery will be built any time soon.”

Highlighting that this phenomenon is unique to Africa, Mr Dangote argued that building a refinery threatens powerful vested interests entrenched within the petroleum value chain across many African nations.

He added that petroleum products were sold at inflated prices due to the lack of local refining capacity, but prices plummeted once the Dangote refinery became operational.

He said the offshore Lomé floating market exists solely to prevent any refinery from operating in sub-Saharan Africa.

“But make no mistake, those who profit from this system will do everything they can to prevent other refineries from emerging. The whole essence of Lomé is to ensure that no refinery operates in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, I don’t see any new major refining project succeeding with the offshore Lomé market in existence,” he said.

He also cautioned that another tactic used to undermine domestic refiners is the increasing dumping of cheap, often toxic petroleum products in Africa, some blended to substandard levels that would never be allowed in Europe or North America.

He stressed that these low-quality fuels, blended with discounted Russian crude under price caps and dumped in African markets, severely undercut local production, which is based on full-market crude pricing.

He called for these obstacles and others to be dismantled through policy alignment, regional cooperation, and above all, strong political will.

Emphasising the vast economic opportunity for Africa to replicate the success achieved in the cement sector, he noted that, from a modest capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum, Nigeria now produces over 50 million tonnes, becoming a net exporter.

“Today, thanks to our visionary investment, determined execution, and government support, we have 52 million tonnes of capacity across Africa and will be at 60 million tonnes capacity by mid next year. We are now a net exporter of cement in Nigeria and other countries, and are targeting export of $500 million of cement and clinker by 2027,” he said.

Mr Dangote stressed the company’s commitment to replicate a similar feat in the energy sector.

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“Today, Nigeria has become a net exporter of refined petroleum products, polypropylene, and urea, a historic turnaround. With our LPG production of 2,500 tonnes per day, we are working to encourage more homes to increase LPG utilisation. And we are just getting started. Very soon, the refinery will be listed to give all Nigerians an opportunity to become shareholders,” he added.

Mr Dangote reaffirmed his commitment to working collaboratively with African governments, private sector investors, and regional institutions to advance the continent’s refining capacity.

“Our vision is simple but ambitious: Africa should refine all the petroleum products it consumes right here on African soil,” he added.